Washington DC, (China Daily) 2014-12-12 – Now we all know why it’s never the United States, but the rest of the world that engages in torture. It’s simply because the US doesn’t call it torture, it calls it enhanced interrogation techniques, or EIT.

But no matter how much nicer it sounds, EIT is heinous and brutal torture as the Tuesday release of a Senate report on interrogations conducted by the CIA makes clear.

In fact, the US is very adept at using such euphemisms and obfuscation, and not just for torture. For instance, some American and Australian pundits launched a crusade against China’s cyberpolicy and practice during a seminar at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday.

In defending the cyberespionage conducted by the US National Security Agency on foreign companies such as Petrobras of Brazil, James Mulvenon, vice-president of the Intelligence Division of the Defense Group Inc, said it was for national security purposes and not to give the information to individual US companies.

This was clearly not what Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff believed when she said that if proved, this would be tantamount to industrial espionage and have no security justification.

Even if the US government does not give the stolen information to US companies, it could use it to its advantage in decision-making. The same is true of the NSA hacking into China’s telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies and Chinese universities as revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

After Snowden’s disclosures, few countries will want the US to dominate the rule-making for global cybersecurity. However, that does not mean the US, with its superpower mentality, is truly willing or ready to listen to others and willing to let others participate in this process, especially those with differing views.

This was demonstrated again on Tuesday. Despite my respect for the Brookings Institution and its expertise on China, the seminar on cyberpolicy in China lacked a panelist from China: it was all Americans and Australians trying to read the minds of Chinese in a way that looked foreign.

There is no doubt that China and the US have major differences, even on their shared interests. For example, the two nations vowed to collaborate in fighting terrorism in cyberspace. But to the US, it seems that attacks in the US are by terrorists, while those in China may or may not be.

Also, when the panelists on Tuesday expressed deep concern at the alleged cyberespionage conducted by the Chinese, no one acknowledged that the NSA is doing this on an unparalleled scale that dwarfs China and the rest of the world put together. The NSA agents do not just sit there drinking coffee or sipping tea.

Without offering any evidence, Mulvenon also accused the Chinese government of snooping at a recent international conference in China, but he failed to mention that according to Snowden’s disclosures that is a common practice for the US government.

It’s actually much worse than that. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was so shocked on learning that her cellphone had been tapped by the NSA that she even proposed to build up a European communications network to counter the mass surveillance conducted by NSA and GCHQ, its British collaborator.

It is no surprise that people like Mulvenon, who are used to pointing fingers at others, do not see the NSA’s activities against other nations as unacceptable. It is like the release of the CIA torture report, many US politicians and the CIA chiefs, past and present, are still trying hard to justify gross human rights violations of theirs.

No one is denying that China has a lot to learn and improve in cyber – governance, but for the US to try and discredit China while ignoring its own wrongdoings is just like calling torture enhanced interrogation techniques. It’s indulging in self-glorification.

The author, based in Washington, is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Peace Through Tourism

How Travel & Tourism Can Help Restore the Balance in the Emerging New World Order

"The travel & tourism buzzword of the 21st century will be the search for balance."

That forecast was made by Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, in the monthly strategic intelligence publication of PATA, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, way back in February 1999. Today, it is proving spot-on as the word "balance" resonates across all industry sectors.

Travel industry conferences seeking a speaker who can offer some unique historical hindsight, unconventional foresight and thought-provoking insight on how to rebuild and restore the balance in Asia Pacific travel & tourism can email Imtiaz Muqbil by clicking here.

There Can Be No Sustainability Without Spirituality

The New World Order will be dominated by a resurgence of spirituality.

Imtiaz Muqbil claims to be the world's only travel journalist to have visited the Holy Spots of all the major world religions -- Lumbhini, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Nalanda, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Amritsar, Makkah, Madinah, Najaf and Karbala, as well as religious spots such as Angkor Wat, Bagan, Shwedagon Pagoda, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of The Tooth, Somnath Temple, Samarkand, Bukhara and many other great mosques, shrines, temples and cathedrals worldwide.

Sustainability, ecotourism and health & wellness travel have all become so 'yesterday'. Prepare for the new generation of travel in the New World Order and raise the bar of your next conference, management forum or seminar by hearing Imtiaz Muqbil's thoughts on this unmatched game- and life-changing experience.

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Secrets of Thailand's Tourism Success

Why the Amazing Kingdom is notching up record-breaking arrivals, and what challenges it faces next

The Thai tourism industry has become by far the Kingdom's most successful service sector, one of its leading job-creators and foreign exchange-earners. Behind this success lies a fascinating history of great branding campaigns, policy and regulatory changes, budgetary bunfights, strategic thinking and influence of Royal events.

But this success has now bred a new set of management challenges that may be more difficult to overcome.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has been monitoring the pulse of the Thai travel industry full-time since 1981. Industry conferences and management meetings wishing to benefit from a treasure trove of insights and hindsights on one of the world's great tourism success stories can drop an email here: imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com.

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The Rise of the Whistle-Blowers

For 15 years (January 1997-July 2012), Imtiaz Muqbil penned a hard-hitting fortnightly column called “Soul-Searching” in the so-called “newspaper you can trust”. In July 2012, the column was gagged, with no explanation.

Over the years, four columns had explicitly forecast the rise of whistle-blowers -- a prediction now coming 100% true. Read the four columns by clicking on the links below.

Too Bad Your Ad Is Not in This Spot

Space available for unique ads that demonstrate commitment to helping physically-challenged people, building global peace, improving social and cultural cohesion, providing opportunities for the under-privileged, alleviating poverty and combatting global injustice & corruption.

If your product is not meeting any of the above goals, please advertise elsewhere.

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News Vs Noise

A Unique Course for Travel & Tourism Communicators In The Internet Era

By far the vast majority of media communications in the travel industry is boring, banal and bland. The same way it has been for the last 30 years.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has designed a special communications course to help upgrade both the context and the content of industry media material, and make it more interesting, readable and, most important, relevant.